Lonely World
by Youtoberz
Summary: "Now it is time to part. To say farewell." The pain of losing someone so close is a lot for anyone to handle. Even though Zatch returned to the demon world as it's king, can Kiyo cope with the separation from his partner?


It was a rainy day in Mochinoki city with dark clouds hovering overhead. Kiyo was sitting alone on his bed with the lights off. Normally he would read for entertainment or research interesting topics using his computer but not today. Ever since the demon fight came to a close and Zatch was sent back to his world as it's king, Kiyo has been lonesome. Kiyo wears a smile when he is with others but once he is alone the emptiness that was once filled by Zatch returns.

Kiyo looks out the window and puts his hand out to feel the rain. The cold and depressing rain seemed to sympathize with Kiyo, who hoped that the rain would be endless so maybe it could fill his lonely world. A day full of sunshine and warmth would never understand Kiyo's sorrow and it would never feel real.

Kiyo walked away from the window and noticed a picture of picture of him, Zatch, Tia, and Megumi hung up on the wall. In the picture they were together at the beach and Zatch was holding a yellow tail happily while Tia was behind Zatch and wrapped her arms around him as she rested her chin against his shoulder; the two children were smiling brightly. Megumi had her arms softly around Kiyo's neck while he himself had a hand running through his own hair out of nervousness; he had a nervous smile and a huge blush on his face. Kiyo managed to smile after seeing that beautiful picture. That picture felt out of place since it was a beautiful picture in a gloomy room but he would never move it because of it's meaning to him. It reminded Kiyo of the happy memories that he once shared with Zatch.

Thunder roared and Kiyo's slight smile turned into a frown once more as memories started to resurface. The times when they relaxed or played together; when they fought each other or alongside of each other. Kiyo remembered a time when he just wanted peace and quiet which Zatch would never allow but now he misses the loud and annoying noise that his partner made. Kiyo never expected it to be this hard to get over losing Zatch and even though he told himself that he had to be strong for Zatch's sake he just couldn't.

Tears started forming but he didn't notice; he was too focused on his thoughts of Zatch. Feeling like he was going insane, he picked up a knife and put it against his wrist. Kiyo has never cut before but he needed a distraction, he thought maybe the pain he would put in his wrist would take his attention away from the agonizing pain in his heart.

"Kiyo! Someone's here for you!" Kiyo's mother called from downstairs.

Kiyo had the knife against his wrist but hasn't cut yet and took his mother's calling as fate's way of telling him to stop. Kiyo put down the knife and sat down in his bed waiting for the person to come upstairs.

The door opened which revealed Megumi which didn't surprise Kiyo because of how often she spends time with him after the demon fight was over. Megumi wore a smile on her face that seemed to purify Kiyo from his depression for the moment. Megumi walked over and sat down on the bed next to Kiyo.

"Hey Kiyo, did you miss me?" Megumi asked playfully.

Megumi always knew how to brighten Kiyo's mood and he replied seriously, "Yeah, I missed you a lot, Megumi."

Megumi became concerned; she always knew if something was off about Kiyo and usually he would blush and act playful back but not this time. "Kiyo, is something wrong?" Megumi asked with a little concern.

Kiyo was surprised Megumi was able to pick up on his sadness, especially since it was fading away. Kiyo looked at the floor and tried thinking of something to say. "Umm… Well…" Kiyo said as he was stalling.

Megumi knew Kiyo was trying to cover it up; she grabbed his wrist to get his attention and said seriously, "Kiyo, tell me the truth."

Before Kiyo could say anything, Megumi felt something wet where she was holding Kiyo. She let go of Kiyo's wrist and saw that blood stained her hand and saw that the source was from Kiyo's wrist.

Kiyo looked at his wrist in disbelief, he didn't slice his wrist but then realized he did put a lot of pressure down on it.

Megumi gasped and asked worriedly, "Kiyo, you're bleeding! What happened?!" Megumi looked over and saw a knife next to Kiyo with small traces of blood on it.

"Did you?!" Megumi asked in almost a yell, knowing that Kiyo would understand what she meant.

Kiyo knew there was no way he could escape her question and his answer talker couldn't even give him a way to cover it up, there was just too much evidence stacked against him. Kiyo looked over at Megumi's frightened face which made him feel guilty. Even though Kiyo couldn't lie to her it felt so hard to tell the truth.

Megumi yanked on Kiyo's arm and said seriously, "Tell me!"

Kiyo sighed replied sadly, "I did. I mean I didn't mean to, it's just that-" Kiyo cut himself off when Megumi moved her arm which made him think that he was about to get slapped.

Right before Megumi's hand made contact with Kiyo's face he closed his eyes but her hand never touched Kiyo's face and instead wrapped her arms around Kiyo fiercely.

Kiyo opened his eyes and saw that Megumi gave him an angry look and she said, "I thought you were supposed to be really smart, Kiyo! Why would you do that to yourself?!" Tears formed in Megumi's eyes and her anger vanished but was replaced with sorrow. Megumi held Kiyo tighter and asked worriedly, "Kiyo, what's wrong? Please tell me."

Kiyo looked away from Megumi and looked at the picture on his wall once more which caused Megumi to shout his name to get his attention back.

Kiyo figured he should tell Megumi since she was his closest friend and so he started to confess, "We look so happy in that picture, don't we?"

Megumi noticed the picture and said, "Stop trying to change the subject-" But Kiyo interrupted her.

"I miss those times when we were all together. Seeing that goofy idiot really did brighten my day and I never even knew it until…" Kiyo looked back at Megumi who knew now that Kiyo was going somewhere with this so she listened intently. Kiyo went on, "Do you know that saying, 'You don't know what you got until it's gone'? Even though I prepared myself for parting with Zatch I wasn't ready. When he left I thought I would be okay and I was for a while. But then my world felt like it lost something huge. Zatch was with me every day and we went through so much together. When I saw a harsh reality, Zatch changed my perspective and I was able to see a happy world full of friends. Zatch was a magnificent light in my life and now that he's gone I just feel a lingering darkness that grows whenever I'm alone. I miss him."

Megumi tightened her hold on Kiyo and asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier, Kiyo? I'm your friend and I would always do my best to help you."

Kiyo wondered why he didn't tell Megumi and said, "I guess it's because I didn't want to bother you about it because you lost someone too."

Megumi sighed and replied, "That's why you should talk to me about it. It's because I'm going through the loss of Tia that I understand your pain of losing Zatch. That's also why I can help you, Kiyo." Megumi let go of her grip on Kiyo and ordered, "Now hold out your wrist."

Kiyo did as he was told as Megumi looked through her bag and pulled out bandages. Kiyo smiled and asked, "You are always prepared, aren't you Megumi?"

Megumi focused on Kiyo's cut and started wrapping bandages around it. "Yeah, I always care medical supplies with me, just in case." Megumi replied seriously.

Kiyo tried lightening the dark atmosphere that he created and said, "You know, you always treated me when I got hurt in a battle." Kiyo added with a chuckle, "You wouldn't even let a small scratch on my cheek go without care."

Megumi started to blush lightly and smiled. "Well I like taking care of my patient thoroughly and I won't miss a single scratch." Megumi replied.

Kiyo's smile grew slightly and he asked, "Patient? Don't you have more than one?"

Megumi's blush intensified and replied truthfully, "If I had more than one I would have said patients instead of patient. You're my one and only patient, Kiyo."

Kiyo was surprised and started to blush. Megumi looked up at Kiyo and said playfully, "How lucky are you. To be a pop idol's one and only."

This made Kiyo's blush intensified as he asked, "W-What do you mean by that, Megumi?"

Megumi stopped wrapping Kiyo's wrist to look up into his eyes; her smile grew and she winked to Kiyo as she said playfully, "It means I've got my eye on you." Megumi looked down at Kiyo's wrist and held his hand as she went on seriously, "It means I care a lot about you, Kiyo. You may not know this but when I lost Tia you were the only person that I could turn to. Thanks to you I'm still happy today. Losing Tia was very difficult for me; she always told me to stay strong and that a pop idol can't cry. That first night after losing her was horrible, all I did was cry and think terrible thoughts. Tia helped me see a new world, just like what Zatch did for you but when she left my world became gray once more. When I felt like things were going back to the way they were before meeting Tia I gave into despair. But then you saved me. When you came over and asked me how I was doing, you made me realize that the world Tia created hadn't given up on me. You saved me from my despair and you filled the hole in my heart." Megumi looked up into Kiyo's golden eyes and went on, "I… I used to cut myself before I met Tia. I don't know why but it made me feel less alone and the pain on my body covered up the pain in my heart. I know I'm a pop idol but that's all people cared for, the popular singer side of me. The first person to see who I was deep down was Tia. Then you came along and you saved us when we were attacked, not because I was a pop idol but because I was someone in danger." Tears started forming in Megumi's eyes and she confessed, "You saved my life, Kiyo. After Tia left, if I didn't have you… I don't want to think about what I would do. Please, promise me you will never leave me! Please!"

Kiyo was in shock by Megumi's sudden confession but upon seeing her tears and hearing her pleading he pulled her into a soft embrace and placed her head against his shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere, Megumi. I will never leave you."

Megumi held Kiyo tightly and let all of her bottled up emotions flow freely; she started crying harder as she burrowed her face into Kiyo's shoulder.

A few minutes had passed and Megumi managed to stop crying; she let go of Kiyo and lifted her face up to see tears running silently down Kiyo's face. "Why are you crying, Kiyo?" Megumi asked.

Kiyo smiled and replied, "Because I just saw an angel cry." Even now he was still trying to lighten the mood.

Megumi smiled and started to blush; she never saw this side to Kiyo before. Kiyo gave Megumi small compliments every now and again but never called her anything nearly as strong as "angel". Megumi started wiping away Kiyo's tears and said, "You're so sweet, Kiyo."

After his tears were wiped away, Kiyo felt a little worried and asked, "Megumi, have you had any bad thoughts lately or harmed yourself?"

Megumi's smiled grew bigger. Even though Megumi knew Kiyo was uneasy and worried, it was because he worried about her that made her feel special. "The only bad thoughts I've had lately are thoughts of losing you. I haven't hurt myself." Megumi replied but her smile faded as she asked, "What about you? Have you hurt yourself besides today?"

Kiyo looked down at his wrist and replied, "I've never hurt myself before now." Kiyo saw Megumi's concerned faced and added, "I promise."

Megumi was relieved and said, "Thank goodness. Kiyo, please don't go down that path because it's a long and lonely road full of pain. Trust me, I've been down that road before and it's not worth it. Besides, I'm sure Zatch wouldn't like seeing you hurt yourself or to see you bottle yourself up in depression. Be the Kiyo that he remembers."

Megumi's words made Kiyo realize that Zatch would have regrets if he knew of Kiyo's condition. Kiyo wanted to change and asked, "Megumi, can you help me? I don't know if I can do this by myself."

Megumi grabbed Kiyo's hand and replied happily, "Of course I'll help you!"

Kiyo smiled and they shared a comforting embrace. Megumi's comfort was purging Kiyo from his depression and felt like he took the first step to recovery. As the embrace progressed, Megumi held Kiyo tighter and whispered, "I will always help you. Whether it's demons or depression I will always be by your side to protect you. Besides Tia, I have never told this to anyone before so I hope it makes you happy…"

"I love you, Kiyo."

Kiyo started holding Megumi tighter and said, "I love you too, Megumi. Thank you for everything."

They both enjoyed the embrace and Kiyo noticed that the rain stopped and could once again see the blue sky outside of his window.

"_Thank you for everything that you've done for me, Zatch. I know I haven't been myself lately but that's going to change. I don't know how you thought of me when we were together but to me you were the best friend anyone could ask for. You made me see a new world filled with many friends and thanks to that, me and Megumi are friends today. There's too much to thank you for and I haven't repaid my debts to you just because I helped make you the demon king. So come back to visit someday, Zatch. So one day I can tell you face to face how thankful I am to have met you._"


End file.
